Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
PARA non-bank credit organization (NBCO) may leave the Azerbaijani microfinance market, a source in the company told Trend March 29.
The NBCO’s management is dissatisfied with the current financial indicators, according to the source.
“PARA has not yet made a final decision, so the shareholders of the NBCO will meet on April 30 and discuss whether it is worth continuing to operate or better leave the Azerbaijani market,” the source noted.
The source added that in case if the PARA management decides to remain in the market, the authorized capital of the NBCO will be increased.
“If PARA stays in the market, additional capital injections will be needed to correct the current situation and expand activity,” the source said, without specifying how much the capital could be increased.
PARA NBCO was established on the basis of ParaBank, which operated in Azerbaijan since 1991.
However, in 2016-2017, the bank faced difficulties that led to violation of the regulator’s requirements regarding the bank’s aggregate capital [50 million manats] and other violations.
As a result, the license of ParaBank was revoked, but the bank’s management decided to continue operating as an NBCO and applied to Azerbaijan’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority, and after that the bank received the corresponding license.